Falling Down and Facing Grace...

At the beginning of last week, four eager college interns arrived in the Czech Republic to spend three to six weeks working with our team. This was a comfort to me as at the end of last week we said to good-bye to short-term, but soon-to-be career, missionary Jen. It was sad for her to leave but we all know that God is already working out the details for her return. The interns are four really solid and passionate girls who are so excited to be serving the Lord here and extremely willing to do whatever needs to be done. I know that God has huge plans for them here and for their personal lives. I am looking forward to getting to know them better and working with them while they are here.

Emily, Alex, Brittany, and Katie

The week has been super busy with activities, ministries, and orientation sessions filling up our days. Though the girls brought a positive energy and excitement to the team, I have personally struggled with the strength and the motivation just to get through each day. My prayers since I first arrived in March have continually been for God to grow me, stretch me, and use me in any way possible during my time here. I did not want to let this opportunity go by without doing all I can for the work of the Lord to see His Glory revealed. And as God is always faithful He has answered these prayers and begun working in my heart and my life. Unfortunately, this means that on several occasions I have fallen flat on my face in complete and utter failure. No one likes to fail, and especially a competitive person such as myself. I like to do things in the best possible way and I like to succeed at what I do. However, I don't always live up to my own expectations. These are prime opportunities for the devil to slip in and whisper doubt in our ears and cause us to slip further away. As much I wanted to fight against this, it was easier to give in. And we all know that many times the easier road is the one most traveled. As much as I strive to be the best, I can never reach that accolade because partly my focus is on the wrong goal. It is not my goal to please people, to please the team or the workers around me necessarily. This ministry is not about me and the work that I do here. It is about God and the people here getting the chance to hear about His saving grace. God is certainly testing me and though I fall, He has never left me and continues to pick me up every day. I am so thankful for a Sovereign God that understands when we don't reach the bar and shows us grace at our most undeserving moments. After a group devotion this morning, I was reminded that pleasing God will in turn please those around us who are working towards the same goal. As it has been most famously spoken, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

"I want to hid in You
The Way, the Life, the Truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And You become clear
As I disappear."

-Bebo Norman

Today was a day of several "first" - and successful ones I might add - so it has been a very encouraging day!

Two of my "firsts" had to do with our weekly Ladies Prayer Meeting, a time when the ladies from the church get together at someone's home and pray together. Hence the name, obviously. Only a few women attend but Brenda and I try to go every week if we can. Well, today Brenda was not able to go because of a doctor's appointment so I was on my own. I had never gone anywhere by myself since I have been here, especially driving somewhere. But I needed to go and spend time with Jitka before she moves and I have missed the last three weeks. I was determined to let any more lost opportunities slip by. I called Brenda to get directions and I wrote everything down. I was running late so I jumped in the car and took off. I safely made it to her apartment without any tickets, accidents, or deportations and I was so excited as I headed upstairs (twelve flights of stairs mind you) for my second "first."

I had never gone to an event or spent time with the locals without Jen or the Barnes so I was a little nervous. Two women were there and only Jitka spoke English. But it was a really nice time and she had no problem translating to Lydia. It was very encouraging to talk with them and have them pray for my needs and to be able to pray for them. We played with their kids and laughed about little Jonas' faces. I am so glad that I went and got to spend that time with them, especially since Jitka is leaving. I smiled as I pulled away, realizing that I could this on my own and that God was already answering my prayers.

My last "first" was part of my resolutions to get active again. Yesterday I walked but today I decided to pick up the pace and I ran for about 3 km. This is approximately 1.8 miles and that may not seem like much but this is the "first" I have ran in about six months. Of course, this is not counting when I ran to the bus stop trying to catch the bus into town. But that is a whole other story.

But it was such an encouraging day and I was very pleased with the fact that I pushed myself in different areas. I pray that God will keep encouraging me to push my limits and that I will not say no.

Peace Be Still...

After a fairly stressful day of designing and staring at a computer screen, I needed a break. My great intentions of running while I have been here fell pretty short after I left my running shoes in the States and opted for Facebook-ing. But during my "furlough" I remembered to pack them and today I dusted them off, cranked up my IPod, and headed out the door to unwind.
The village that I live in is really quiet and peaceful, especially later in the evening. It was about 8:20pm but it doesn't get dark until about 9:30, which I love. Out of the front gate I headed right which meant I was going away from the town and toward the next one. A few minutes down the road, past the houses and barking dogs there was nothing but fields and grass. Off in the distance you could see Ceske Budejovice.
The road was really narrow and made me nervous as cars sped by so I didn't go very far. I turned around and went through a neighborhood, looking for a trail that Jen had taken me on before. Walking down the trail I took advantage of the fact that there was no one around and started singing out loud to my music. At one point I stopped and turned around and saw the city way out in the distance past the fields. I saw a city with so many opportunities and people to reach but I also saw so many lost opportunities. In the middle of the path began to talk to God and pray that my attitude would change and that I would make a positive difference toward this city. Over the past couple of weeks my spirit had begun to weaken and discouragement came more easily. I usually like to work really hard and accomplish more than I have time for. But lately it has been really hard when I don't feel like I am doing my best and it is even harder when I am trying to keep up with missionaries around me who are so strong and solid in their ministry here. I let the stress and the uncertainty of the summer overwhelm me. Standing there I knew I had to stop thinking about myself and start focusing on what was really important. God brought me here for a reason and I knew He would provide everything I needed to accomplish the task He set before me. There are so many ways to reach out here and too little time to worry about little things. The walk was so refreshing and it was just what I needed after a long day of inside work. I pray that I can focus on the relationships that need to be built and the ways that I can contribute to this ministry. Please join me in this prayer as well.

"Don't tell your God how big your storm is, tell your storm how big your God is."

A Weekend of Good-Byes...

This was a strange weekend as we have begun to say good-bye to several important people, both here and at home. First my landlords threw a surprise party for my roommate Jen, who will be leaving next week. She has decided to go career with ABWE Czech and will go home for a year, hopefully no longer, to raise support and then will return here full-time. She will focus on English, MK education, women's ministry, and church planting. Jen has been here in Czech for two years and has not been back to the States since she first arrived in 2006. She has been an amazing friend and missionary during this time and I know so many people are sad to see her go. But the Lord is bringing her back in His perfect timing. I know I will miss her greatly as I don't know when i will see her again - until one day when we are in Heaven together. She has been instrumental in helping me adjust to life here and showing me everything I needed to know from grocery shopping to riding the bus to simple language. Most importantly she has been a friend who I can talk with, pray with, and laugh with. Jen has an amazing heart and a selfless giving spirit that I know God will use in so many unique ways here. The party Saturday night was a true testimony to how Jen has impacted lives and hearts here.

At the church Sunday we had a barbeque for a dear couple, Jitka and Dalibor Novak, who will be moving to another area of Czech to begin a ministry. They have a beautiful baby boy named Jonas, who is only a few months old but already active and alert! I have gotten to know Jitka during my time here through the Ladies Prayer Time and she is a very sweet woman who really loves the Lord. Dalibor is an elder at the church who has been a strong leader since the beginning of the church plant. I know this family will be an amazing light to their new city and I pray that they reach a whole new area with the Gospel. God gave us a beautiful afternoon and everyone stayed around as we ate barbeque and enjoyed the fellowship and sun. Now, when I was first told that we were having a barbeque, I got so excited - I was thinking about pulled pork and barbeque sauce and potato salad. But of course, we are in Europe and not even barbeque is different - "it is not same" as they say! Instead of pulled pork sandwiches we enjoyed bratwurst and sausages! It was very good though! And now I have had European barbeque! But even the food could not hide the Novak's expressions of sadness as they prepared to say good-bye. Dalibor will move next week to start his job but Jitka will go later on in June after their apartment sells - so we get to enjoy her a little while longer!

Finally, back at Southside my church family said their good-byes to our amazing worship pastor and his family. Since I knew I would not be there for the final Sunday, I had to say good-bye when I was home a few weeks ago. I know this was a bittersweet Sunday for Southside, as Bryan and Teresa will be hugely missed and impossible to replace. But we know and trust that God is bringing them into a new chapter in their lives and we cannot stand in the way of His plans. Bryan has an incredible voice and has blown me away with what he has done with the choir. I would definitely have to say that worship time at Southside is one of absolute favorite times. I have also had the privilege of getting to know him as a staff member and he is definitely one of the encouragers on our team! Teresa has been a huge benefit to the women's ministry and a dear friend to many. And their children are an outstanding example of kindness and respect. I have really enjoyed this family and the impact that they have had on our church family. I pray that God will bless their new ministry as well and that their new church family will realize the gift they have been given in this family!

Saying good-bye is never easy or enjoyed but is necessary to life. People come and go and it is the marks that they leave in our hearts that make us who we are. Rather than dwelling on the sadness of their departure I thank God for the time that I had with them and the friendship they provided. I pray that God carries them to this next chapter and maybe one day our paths will cross again, maybe even on this side of Heaven.

Even Joyful Noise is Music to Me...

Today was a blessing in several different ways. First of all, the sun came out bright and beaming today - and no I am not making a reference to the newest American Idol! God had a beautiful day awaiting us when we stepped out of Praise Team practice and boy were we excited to see that yes the sky is in fact blue, not gray! Practice went really well and we even had a new member show up. She is one half of a new couple in our church, Jon and Jona (pronounced "Yon" and "Yona"). They are a great young couple who are so excited to be involved in the church and to get to new us. This is unusual for a Czech but I love it because this is what I am accustomed to. Plus, it is great to see a family so excited for Christ and ready to step into different ministries.
So Jona practiced with us and we learned several new songs. Of course, every song is new to me but I am getting better at pronouncing the words. And today, as a part of my blessings, Petr told us what the songs meant. That helped so much because it added depth to what we were going to be singing and it allowed us to really worship. I didn't remember everything but I remembered the basic point of the song. Worship to me is not just singing a song - at home at Southside, for example, I get lost in our worship time. It excites me and I sing louder than you can imagine while I forget about everyone around me and for a few moments I am singing praises to my God. Just me and Him and no one else around as I am able to freely express, in beautiful prose, just how amazing He is. I don't lead worship at home and it is safe to say that singing is not one of my God given talents. But there was a need and for the time I am filling it. So, being on the other side of the congregation is already a challenge for me - and then when you add another language to sing in it becomes even less of a worship time to me. I am so focused on saying the words right, it is all I can concentrate on. And most times I have no idea what the song is saying. Yes, I know it is about God and a praise to Him but does it really mean anything when you don't know what you are saying? But when Petr told us what they meant I was able to focus not as much on singing it the right way but on really singing to God. The first few weeks, I so missed our English worship and you cannot realize how vital it is to your moral until you have to do without it. Even fifteen minutes of having to stand and sing in church is an amazing blessing to missionaries all over the world who have a hard time being fed themselves in their regions. Looking around Sunday, I saw that I was not the only one starting to lose myself in the worship. For the first time, I saw Czechs truly worshiping the Lord. Though just a few, it showed me that our work here is not in vain. Even with an out of tune American leading worship, they were starting to get the picture. They were starting to understand what we are on this earth to do.


We actually sing several songs that are English praise and worship that were translated to Czech. I think you might recognize this one:

Pojd´, ted´ je ten cˇas jej chválit,

pojd´, své srdce můžeš Králi dát.

Pojd´, ted´ je ten cˇas jej chválit,

pojd´, před Králem svým ted´ můžeš stat,

pojd´.

Jednou každý jazyk vyzná, že jsi Pán,

každý jednou se pokloní,

navždý slavný poklad zůstává nám,

kdo tê milují!

What News Do You Want First?

Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Normally people want the bad news first so I will give you that and then I will lift you up with my good news. So, the bad news is that the sun has not come out for almost a week here. Last week was perfect summer weather - warm sun, clear skies, and capri pants and flip flops! But for some reason, Sunday brought the gloom and it has not lifted since. To boot, it has turned back to winter! To go to town the other day, I actually had to wear a scarf and gloves. Since the sun is literally the source of warmth here, it has been greatly missed, especially after coming from blazing hot GA weather. Every day has been rain and dark clouds and I'm not just talking about the weather. Where are you sun?

And now for the good news...

The sun came out today though in the form of a tall dark haired rocker who was just named our new "American Idol!" My roommate and I could care less about the weather today as we sat hunched over a computer watching a taped "American Idol" over the Internet (thanks to Ron's parents) and anxiously awaited the results. Being Cook fans from the beginning we were biting our nails wondering what the outcome would be. With Archuletta favored to win, we feared the worst but still hoped for the best. Cook was our man and as soon as we heard the first consonant of his last name the jumping and screaming began. In my opinion David Cook was the most deserving and was given the credit he deserved - what a talented, and might I add good-looking, singer! Now all I have to do is wait for his cd!!

This is rug...

Today I experienced a very proud moment as an English tutor! This may seem like something small to most but I pride myself in finding joy in the simple things of life - especially when it comes to things I am able to accomplish.

My main English student, Lida, is the daughter of my landlords. Last night as Ron sat downstairs talking with her and her family, they began to discuss the remodeling that they have been doing in their summer cottage and in our apartment. Lida speaks considerably less English than her parents, so Ron usually has no problem talking to them but struggles with her. However, as they grasped to find the word to describe the small piece of carpet on the floor Lida shouts out that "this is rug!" Unfortunately, I was not even there to hear it but Ron exalted her with praise and excitedly told me about it today although he could not remember the word. When I asked Lida about today at our lesson, she laughed as the recounted what happened and told me the word was "rug." I smiled as I realized it was one of our vocabulary words that we have gone over her and gave her the praise that was due for remembering. I was so proud of her and so thankful that God has given me this opportunity to actually pass on knowledge to another person. Lida has such a great attitude and a strong desire to learn the language and today I realized what a great bond we have formed as she jokingly chided me about my locked cell phone and my English pronunciation. Thank God for small miracles that keep us going every day!

Around the World in Seven Days!

After realizing that I could not change my ticket without a massive fee, I found it cheaper to fly home and come back in order to stay until August. I had seven days to fly home, accomplish all my tasks in GA, and fly back (which actually took two days). This turned out to be both a blessing and a frustration, and now a lesson I can share.

After an extremely long flight home it was great to land and immediately be greeted by my step-dad and my little sister, proudly holding a Czech version of a "welcome home" sign. I spent the week in America visiting friends, spending time with my wonderful family, catching up with everyone at work and gathering "supplies" for my trip. The blessings were abundant in that I got to see so many people from my immediate family to my church family. I was able to see my older sister inducted in a national honors society and then graduate with a Master's degree. And best of all, I got to spend Mother's Day with my wonderful mum and my crazy siblings! Even though we are all grown up, it was just like the "good ole days" being together again and ragging each other to the best of our ability. Back in the States, the encouragement was overflowing from everyone I saw and my days were filled with visits and phone calls. It was a lot harder than I imagined to be there for just a week and get everything accomplished that I planned. There were so many people to see and so many things to do!

Aside from my visits, I had to get all my summer clothes together and anything else I needed for my time away. This included quite a few essentials that I could not get in Europe - yet with my limited time and resources not everything was packed into the three (yes I said three) suitcases that accompanied me back to Prague. By the day I was to fly out I was running late, in need of more things, and extremely stressed. My sister and I were literally throwing everything into my suitcases, leaving my room in total disarray. So what was supposed to be an organized week of visits and packing ended with a frantic dash to the airport. My bags were full no doubt but not with the best packing skills. The entire way back and for days after, I thought about the things I had not been able to bring. They were little things like shoes and movies and foods that you can't get here. Yet they were little luxuries that make an American feel at home in a strange land, and a fashion queen feel in style.

I realized my focus was way off and I figured out why. Since I am not in a third world country but in a an affluent area you start to feel that it's ok to still want things. Had I been in Africa, I would shun the little luxuries of life saying that I am on the mission field and I understood that I had to give up things. I wouldn't have anywhere to wear high heel shoes to or a dvd player to watch movies. Here, however, it is a very different situation. So I felt that it was not as necessary to give up everything - I didn't have to live below the poverty line. This attitude is not a bad one but when it overrides your mind and you become frustrated over what you are giving up, then it become a problem. I had the blessing to be serving God in a beautiful country and all I could think about were white high heels that go perfectly with those gray pants hanging in my closet. I wanted to go straight to the phone and have my mom ship everything here, offering to pay no matter what the cost. However, I realized what I was thinking. Would one extra pair of shoes really be worth money that could be used for groceries or gas? Should I really be worried about material things when I had to be in the best spiritual shape to be able to fulfill my time here? Yes I get to enjoy the little pleasures in life even while I am on the mission field. But I cannot let it become so important that my focus is taken off my main goal and the pleasures become necessities.

Greater things are still to be done in this city...

The past month has obviously been so busy I haven't even had time to catch up with all my "blog readers." As of right now, I am scheduled to fly home on May 5 to get back to the "real world. But the past few weeks have taken me on an interesting journey of decisions and breakthroughs.

About halfway through my time here, my schedule picked up and I soon had something going on every day of the week. I spent most of my time during the day working on "Ron Stuff." Little did I know that I could update a website but give me a user name and password and apparently I can find my way around the back end of a site fairly well. This is just one of the ways that God has shown me I can do more than I thought. Other than that I have been able to catch him in various office tasks like designing letterhead and organizing files. Certainly not the most glamorous side of ministry work but extremely important none the less. The less time he has to spend sitting on his computer and in his office, the more time that he can be doing what he does best. I'm not sure what that is yet, besides giving us a healthy dose of a hard time, but I am sure I will see it soon. In all seriousness, Ron has an extremely important job here in Czech and excels at it. He is a great communicator and builds relationships easily - that trait is vital here. So I am glad to help him out in any way I can so that he can spend his time on the field, training leaders to be great communicators. Oh, and he plays the guitar in our Praise Team - without him we would lose the beat!

My other time is spent in various outreaches and ministry projects. As I am sure I have already mentioned, I teach English to my landlord's daughter Lida and to the Barnes' Czech teacher, Magda. I meet with Lida every Tuesday and Thursday night at 5:00 and I meet with Magda usually on Wednesdays when she comes to teach the family. This has been a huge learning experience for all three of us. As they have learned English, I have learned a little Czech and I have learned how to teach someone the basics of a language. Through teaching, I have learned how to learn. I also had the opportunity to teach the Seminary students an English lesson when they came to Budejovice for a day. That in itself was a task I was surprised I could accomplish. And finally for the past month, I have gone with the team to a local elementary school to work on English with 7th and 8th graders. This is one of my favorite parts of the ministry because I love working with younger people and I really enjoy getting to know the kids every week. Sometimes they get nervous about talking but it's always a new experience every time we go. I knew that I was coming here to teach English, and I underestimated it's difficulty as I prepared to come. Teaching something that we know as basic knowledge is harder than it sounds and I say this not to boast but to show God's greatness. He has given me the strength and the confidence to work with these students, hopefully having an impact on their language as well as their lives.

About the time that my schedule picked up, my heart began to soften for this city and this people. I had become very comfortable here and began to get accustomed to the ways of the area. It can be a discouraging ministry as many days will go by and you may think that nothing has been accomplished or no one has been affected. In one of the darkest spiritual countries in the world, the work here is often planting seeds and praying for rain knowing that we may never see the fruits of the labor. Yet I wanted to be a part of it. There were so many more things I could accomplish and so many more opportunities for me to get involved. There were relationships to deepen and new ones to form. With so many outreaches planned for the summer and even the breakthroughs I had seen since I had been here, I could see the land was becoming fruitful and the laborers were coming. The city is primed and ready for us to reap a bountiful harvest! I began to seek God about my role in this; after all my trip was only scheduled for two months and I have a job in the States that I did not want to lose. How excited I was though when God blessed me with the opportunity to stay, after a slight furlough in America of course! So now here I am in the Czech Republic again for three more months. I am overwhelmed at what lies ahead but excited beyond words and still in disbelief that God has chosen to use me! I would like to ask you to pray for me and the team here as we enter into the busiest time of the year. May we see this summer for what it is - three months full of opportunities to build relationships and show God's love, not a time to stress about the busyness. Please also pray that the financial support that I require to live here will come in God's great timing to take care of me. God Bless!!

It's been a while but don't worry everyone, I am still safe and sound in the Czech. The past couple of weeks have been very busy and nothing short of amazing for me. I have done more than I ever thought I could do and God has shown me how easy it is to be used simply by surrendering and being willing.
The weekdays have kept me busy with office work and attempting to update and organize Ron. He is actually a former pastor and has been preaching at their church plant here and I have found him to be no different than the crazy pack of pastors I work with at home. In my Czech "office" (i.e. the kitchen table) I have discovered there are many similarities to my WR office. For instance, here there are always random outbursts of songs (think Matt), loud obnoxious laughter (think Charlie), constant teasing and long discussions (think Billy), kids running around screaming (think Josh), wise advice being poured out (think Dennis), team meetings (think Bro. Jerry), silly jokes (think Randall), technical support (think Jim), and even praise team recruiting (think Brian). So, gaining the atmosphere that I'm used to takes nine pastors to accomplish at home but translate it into Czech and it is all rolled into one person: Ron Barnes. How's that for a pleasant work environment?
As crazy as it is though, it is so fulfilling and rewarding. Thought the seeds are not always visible and the plant doesn't always seem to grow, I know I am completing the tasks God set before me and helping assist a missionary who has an incredible passion and dedication to bring Christ to one of the darkest areas of the world.
When I am not working in the office, I have two students that I tutor one-on-one in English. Never did I think I would be teaching English and until now I did not truly realize how complicated our language is. These women that I work with amaze me though because of their eagerness and their desire to expand their languages. How often do we fuss for having to learn a second language in high school? Though the schools teach English, it is very watered down and difficult to walk away with a full vocabulary. Yet the students that we meet take extra time out of their lives to come and learn a language that is not even promoted in this country. We don't realize how we are limiting ourselves by thinking we only need to speak one language! My Czech words are few so there are often times when I want so much to be able to piece the words together into sentences so that I can communicate with these people. They realize the importance of communication and the need in their lives to know other languages. It has been a great learning experience for myself as well as for them.
When the weekend comes, it is almost as busy as the week. Last Friday, we had several couples from the church over to the Barnes house for a fellowship time. We made pizza and sat around talking with three extremely nice couples. This was a great opportunity for me to have more interaction the members of the church and learn the culture but I found it hard to find things to discuss with them. They are so friendly though and I soon broke out of my shell and began to converse a little more. After two couples with kids left to get them home, the younger couple stayed to play games. This turned out to be really exciting because I love to play games and I love to win even more. And I was called out for my competitiveness by the locals but I am not ashamed of my drive to be the best. Unfortunately, drive can only get you so far and in a game of "Spoons" speed is the real key to winning. Then they taught us games using only our hands and things got really silly after that. But I still had a great time and even better, the families had a great time getting to know each other more. It reminded me of a life group meeting....The part that stuck out in my mind most though was when I was talking with Ron and Jon about my church. They asked me how many people there were in my church and I said roughly 3,000 members. I then found out that in all of Czech Republic, there are roughly 3,000 Baptists. Let me say that again in case you missed that statistic. My home church, one church out of many churches in my city, has the same number of members as there are Christians in this entire country. This is indeed a dark country that needs our Lord and Saviour.
On Saturday, my roommate wanted to make sure I had every opportunity to explore the sights so she took me hiking up a mountain in a nearby town called Klet. It was really beautiful to see the area from high atop a mountain and though the hike was exhausting, it was a great time for us to get a break and spend some time together. Sunday I was a part of the Praise Team again and yes you read that right, I actually stood up in front of people and sang. Luckily there was no mic but I did play a pretty mean egg shaker. I think I could go on "American Idol" just with that. It was a neat experience though because I got to see how they worship from a better point of view. The culture here is so laid back that even in the church the worship is very soft, for lack of a better word. But the idea of the Praise Team is to get them more involved and help lead them into a spirit of true worship unto the Lord.
Like I said, every day is a new experience and I find myself stepping out on limbs left and right and though I may lose my balance or teeter on the edge, I never fall. God has held me the entire time and I look forward to every new day as a day that I can be used to encourage and plant a little bit of hope and light into a dark and dying country.

Relaxation is vital...

March 24 - March 28
So now that the Liberty team is gone it seems very quiet around here. After they left, the week was all about relaxation for us. The first two days were down days in a major way. Since we had taken the students to the airport at 4:00am in the morning, we went back to the seminary to sleep for a couple of hours before making the two hour drive back to Budejovice. Once we did get back in town, I was down for the rest of the day. I was able to catch up on my emails and some other tasks I needed to work on. I relaxed. The rest of the week was pretty much the same. We had all been so busy for ten days that we needed some time to not focus on anything or worry about anything. So Ron decided to treat us all to a day at the local spa. They call it a spa but it was really more of a health and wellness center. Either way, we all spent the afternoon soaking in a hot tub. Strange as it may seem, I actually felt a little guilty about this. I didn't know what all I would be doing here but I definitely didn't expect that I would sitting in a hot tub or getting a massage from the salon across the street. My supporters are also probably wondering if they could have spent their money on something other than sending a girl to Europe to be pampered. However, this was not our typical tasks but still an important activity for our ministry. I work at a church and understand how hectic things can be. I work around pastors who rarely have down time because there are people to visit, sermons to write, counseling to be done, and tons of other various tasks that come with the territory. But they know the importance in taking time to relax otherwise they become burnt out and are no longer effective. And what would be the point of even having a ministry if it is not effective? Now I have seen how busy missionaries can be. There is always something to be done, from making contacts to keeping up with communications in the States to actually doing a ministry activity. Yet I thought when I was giving up two months of my life to come to the mission field that I would be giving up many luxuries and comforts. Sitting in a hot tub didn't seem like missionary work but relaxation was vital to my ministry. God doesn't want us to be so busy that we never have time to take a break and enjoy the blessings that He has given us. Doing ministry in Czech may be in a different language than ministry in the U.S. but it is still ministry. I take the time to relax and pamper myself at home why should I not take the time to relax here? Yes, I gave a lot of things up. But my sanity is not one of them nor is it one I am willing to part with. Especially in a foreign country where everything is different to me.

Chasing Liberty!

Hello again! These posts are way behind because I have been following college students around Eastern Europe and have been on a much needed break for the past two days. Liberty is gone now but they are greatly missed! After spending a week with 14 of Liberty's finest, I have decided that the school that half my colleagues at home talk about really does produce some pretty impressive young adults. All the students were more than ready to do whatever needed to be done, no matter how big or small. They dedicated these ten days to faithfully and fully serving the Lord and the Barnes family. With all the tasks they were able to accomplish, they still found time to wrap their week in prayer and daily personal time with the Lord! So, I will try to sum up how they spent the majority of their week. First, I would like to introduce you to the great group of students that I have had the pleasure of working with all week long:

America, meet:

Taylor, Bryson, Dan, Annie, Ryan, Jessica, Stephanie, Jillian, Rachel,Meredith, Holly, Mia, and Josie

Team Liberty's Fearless Leader, Ryan

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday:
These were mostly work days for the students. They were able to get a lot done at the Barnes house and the church; the tasks that they accomplished saved the Barnes about six months of work. What a huge blessing. At night, we continued with the English classes and we had a steady roster of the same four people all week. A young girl came to the Advanced class one night, but ended up translating for Lita in the Beginner class. During Big Group Time, Ron had a different student speak each night to bring an encouraging word to the students. Speaking to non-believers who don't even fully understand your language can prove to be quite a challenge, but the students did a great job coming up with simple messages that could encourage and inspire. We were able to take another visit to Ceske Krumlov, the beautiful little city that sits twenty minutes away on the river. We explored the local community by visiting local hot-spots such as Tesco, the afore mentioned grocery store, and Globus, a combination mall and Wal-Mart-type shopping center. And the students taught four more classes at the elementary school, which proved to be a huge success. In fact, the school was so excited about the participation from the students that they have asked us to come back on a regular basis to help the students with their English. That is huge for a Christian ministry to be invited into a public school in a dark country just because we showed the children some attention! This was a huge breakthrough and will hopefully lead to more open doors in the community.
Friday:
America took over the town of Ceske Budejovice in full force today as we were released in teams of three for a Scavenger Hunt, Czech Style! My team, i.e. the winning team, was made up of myself, our wonderful leader Sophie Barnes, Josie, Rachel, Bryson, and Mia. We followed clues that took us all over the town square and beyond and had us doing everything from eating ice cream in freezing weather to putting our feet in an icy river. We had been told that there was no time limit but the most creative and funny pictures would win so we all put our heads together to get some awesome shots of "Team Czech Us Out" hitting the town of Ceske Budjovice. It was a great opportunity for not only the Liberty students to sightsee and practice the Czech language but also for myself since I hadn't really seen the city. The best part was that we had to get locals to take the pictures, since we had to be in them, so the looks we got from them were priceless. They watched as we hung Sophie over a rail, climbed a wall on a bridge, asked total strangers to be in pictures, acted like birds eating food, dunked me under a water fountain, and did handstands next to giant pencils. Although the game was deemed a tie, we all know who really won...
After the hunt, we shopped for a little while since the square was filled with merchants for Easter. A group of us decided to go up the historical Black Tower, however, and I was so glad I went with them. The concept was simple and familiar: walk up about 245 steps of a tall lighthouse type building and take pictures atop the city. Well, somehow climbing lighthouses in Savannah was a lot simpler. The Black Tower steps were skinny and narrow and the cold weather and heavy coats did not make for ideal climbing conditions. But once we got to the top, it was definitely worth the sweat and sore legs. The view was amazing! How beautiful it is to see a city from the way God sees it...up high and able to see everything in one view! After several dozen pictures were taken from every angle and with every participant, we made our descent back down, which was much quicker for some reason.
That night we had the Good Friday service at the church. This was a really cool idea and the turn out was great. We spent a few minutes in remembrance of the sacrifice that Christ made for us - coming to Earth only to be rejected and killed by the very ones He came to love. But then, as Ron encouraged us, we celebrated His resurrection. After all, that is what Easter is all about. He is alive and not dead and we celebrated that fact through songs in English and Czech, praising a God that gave the ultimate gift so that we could have the ultimate existence! It was a great service and a great time to fellowship with the church members.
After that, it was time for us to have our own little celebration! Brenda prepared a whole table of goodies for ice cream sundaes and we all sat down together to view the pictures from the day. Not only were the pictures being judged but there poems written while in the square, using words from the square and I don't think there are any words that I could use to describe the poetic beauty that that came out of the minds of the three teams. All I can say is, Dr. Suess would be proud but Robert Frost would probably cringe. We were rolling on the floor though - it's amazing what college kids can come up with! Again, Ron declared it a tie between the teams, all led by a Barnes child. So as we sat and screamed for our respective leader the kids got to feel like rock stars for a little while which was actually pretty satisfying. But I still say there was a clear cut winner - after all, why play a game if you can't win? Then you are just a group of losers - super! Everyone did a great job though! (But Team Czech Us Out did the best)
Saturday:
We had an amazing morning planned. We were off to Hluboka Castle, about thirty minutes away in the town of Hluboka. Everyone was so excited - the castles are one of the reasons people come to this area. We walked about a mile up the hill to get to the castle, which apparently is a theme around here, but once we reached it the walk again was totally worth it! Ron had told us that the parents of one of the local girls, Eva, had gotten married here in the castle. Judging by the outside alone, I would definitely be ok getting married in this castle. It was beautiful! We took a bunch of pictures of the outside and the inner courtyard and then we waited to see if we could tour the inside. Ron had been told that it would be closed due to the winter; it would cost too much to heat the entire building so they only offer tours during the warmer months. Yet, today they were taking groups through. So it was arranged for us to get an English speaking tour guide - we just had to wait about thirty minutes for them to be ready. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures inside the castle and we had to be extremely quiet and respectful. They are not above throwing people out in the middle of the tour.
The castle was beautiful! It was absolutely amazing! Every room was carved with deep wood in such an intricate manner. The ceilings were painted in gold, purple and red flowers. Chandeliers were huge crystal ornaments hanging from the ceilings. There were treasure boxes and paintings and deer heads in all the rooms. There were several rooms dedicated solely to armor and weapons that the family used for wartime. The formal dining room sat 72 people. I have been to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and I must say that the Biltmore paled in comparison of elegance and grandeur. Hluboka was incredible and the tour guide did such a great job explaining everything in English, though his accent was a bit hard to understand. He made us laugh with his humor about the castle and the people. He even let one of the college students, Holly, play the grand piano. That was pretty awesome to watch - if only we could have taken pictures! Everyone loaded up with postcards once we got outside and then we hiked back down the hill. Today happened to be an extremely cold day and since they were not able to heat the castle, it actually felt colder inside than it did outside.
For the afternoon, we were going to be staying at The Open Door Club. There we would be holding a game afternoon, but with indoor games due to the cold. We were not sure who would be showing up so we sat and waited and then started playing a big group game called the "Animal Game." I'm not really sure of the point of this besides you act like an animal and you have to remember who the other "animals" are. It was funny to watch though - after all, anything is better than Mafia. After being accused of the being Mafia in my first time playing and then being whacked the second time, I was pretty much done with that game. The college kids thought they were Tony Soprano apparently. After a while Yada and Olga, our landlords, showed up. We split up into smaller groups to play card games and I orchestrated a game of spoons with my group. Then came Rapture and Egyptian Rapture. It was a fun afternoon and I think Yada and Olga enjoyed just sitting around and talking to everyone. They even brought us food and their daughter Lita made us a chocolate lamb cake for Easter. It was just shaped like a lamb, not actually made of lamb - a few of the kids were worried. Once the games were done, we headed back to the Barnes house for dinner and somehow ended up watching High School Musical. I lost about two hours of my life that night that I will never get back. I know this will probably enrage a lot of people because this craze seems to have brainwashed America and now surrounding areas but I found this movie very hard to sit through with using any gag reflexes.




Sunday:
Easter morning in Czech was much different than Easter morning in America but it was Easter just the same! Today would be bittersweet however, since it was our last day with the Liberty students. We put on our best dress for the service and the students got all their things packed up. The service was really great. The students led us in English worship and we also sang in Czech for the church members. Vlada gave a great message about the Resurrection of Christ and luckily Peter translated for us. It was so nice to hear the message of Christ halfway around the world, in another language.
Immediately after church we had to change and get on the road. A quick stop at KFC (yes that is Kentucky Fried Chicken) we headed to Prague for the day. It was about a two hour drive and boy were we ready to get there. First though, we had to stop at the Baptist Seminary in Prague, which is where we were staying for the night. Then we parked the vans and we set out on foot to explore the beauty of Prague. The first stop was the castle district. It was crowded and we had to stick together to avoid getting lost or pick pocketed but it was so neat. There were all these beautiful buildings and massive cathedrals. Statues filled the inner courts and it was crazy to stand there in the middle and be surrounded by this huge beauty of work. We all tried to stay together and still stop and take pictures every few minutes. Ron lead us through the area and then would stop every once and a while to release us for fifteen minutes before we had to move on to the next stop. After the castle district we headed into downtown Prague, near the famous Charles Bridge. We walked down cobblestone streets (can't get over that) along skinny little roads with outdoor cafes and little shops along the way. I took pictures of everything and still couldn't believe I was walking through this major European town. We got to a stopping point just before the bridge and Ron stopped us to brief us. We had about an hour and a half to shop and sightsee and then we were moving to the next area. He pointed out the Starbucks and let us go. Of course, about half us went straight to the coffee shop to fill up on our American java. And yes, I was part of that group. I wanted a mocha! About thirty other people were also flocking in as well, so we were a little worried that we would waste about thirty minutes just trying to get our drinks. Now, I am not trying to be anti-American in the least but I have to give another point to the Czechs on this one. This Starbucks was more efficient with thirty customers than I've seen American Starbucks with two. We stepped up, gave our order, our name, they threw the cup down the counter, we paid, and we were out. Literally, in five minutes. I was impressed - this location should be a training headquarters!
Once we had our jump start, we were on our way. Unfortunately, once we reached the door we saw that it was pouring down rain. None the less, we headed out and shopped for a while ducking into little shops to get out of the weather. Normally, the shops are pretty set on their prices and will not barter with you; it is not the culture like it is Latin America. All I did was stop in one store where some of the rest of the group was and pick up an item and all of a sudden the worker is bartering with me. He must have spotted my keen business skills, because he started with just 10kr coming off the price. Well, I was not going to fall for that. I walked out of the store with the item, and I paid about 40kr less than what was on the sticker. Even the Barnes thought this was strange that he did this. But I was not complaining. Once my group reached the bridge, it was still raining but it was still so beautiful to see! We were wet and tired but to stand on the bridge and see so much of Prague, with a ferry boat playing music in the background, was so amazing! We walked along the bridge and looked at all the vendor's paintings of the scenery. This was really cool to see; they tend to be more expensive on the bridge but we didn't have a whole lot of time left and the group had money to spend. It had stopped raining and we started to enjoy the stroll along the water, looking at the paintings and trying to find ones that were nice but not too expensive.
We left the bridge and walked to another area of the town. This was the old town square, and it was filled with people and more merchants. A little fair was set up due to the Easter holiday so we shopped yet some more and explored the area. Fifteen minutes there and we walked to the next stop. Another thirty minutes of shopping in another area and we were finally worn out. The last stop was neat though because you could see the capitol building and these streets were lines with really nice clothing stores. Now I felt at home! Now it was time for a new experience - public transportation. We walked to the subway station and Ron got us all tickets. This inevitably produced another photo session as most of us had never ridden a subway before, myself included. So we took the subway, which wasn't much different than the tram at the Atlanta airport, over to another stop where we then took a public bus. Their bus system is completely electric though, and there are big bars that stick out of the top and run along the wires. It was all very exciting for a girl from a small town in GA. We got in the vans and drove to dinner, which was a really nice mediterranean restaurant called the Myln Restaurant. We checked our coats and they had two long tables set up for us, all decorated very nicely. The food was amazing, the service was super, and the company was even better. We got to drink from fancy little wine glasses (not wine, just used the glasses) and everything was so nice. They put your coat on for you when you left, which was another surprise for most of us. You just don't get service like that anymore...
It was a great last night together and a really nice way to just relax and hang out. We met up again in one room at the seminary to debrief about the trip and it was so encouraging to hear how impacted the students were after ten days. It was encouraging for me just to have them around. They definitely brought America to me and I built some amazing friendships through it. They completely made me feel like one of them and welcomed me as part of their group - I knew it was going to be tough to say good-bye to them. By the time we were done, we went to bed for about four hours. At 3:30am we were up again to take the students to the airport to catch a flight at 6:00am. The good-byes were sad and it was hard to see them off. I have made some amazing friends within them and seen a group of extremely dedicated, strong Christian students fulfill the Lord's purpose in Czech Republic. I couldn't have been more humbled and encouraged by their presence. They were such a blessing to know and I pray that God truly blesses them in their future.

Let It Snow!

This is going to be a pretty long post so fix a nice hot mug of horka cokalada (hot chocolate) sit back, relax, and enjoy! Now, the drink may be a little out of season for everyone there in America but it is actually what we have been living off of this past week (that and cappuccino). I have seen more snow in the past two days than I have in the past two years, excluding a Christmas trip to WV. That's right, it has been snowing here! Though it's off and on and only sticks for a little while, it is still snow and a rarity to see in GA so I have enjoyed it! I could live without the -3 degree temperature but at least I brought plenty of warm clothes. I'm not as brave as some of the college kids who walk around in short sleeves and ballet flats - well, maybe brave isn't the right word! Either way, it has been an adventure! Let me begin my story...

Sunday:
We had church this morning and they have one service at 9:30am. It was rainy and very cold outside but Jen had us run by the store before the service. We arrived a few minutes before it started and I took the time to check out the surroundings. They had acquired a small building from the government to use as their church; it had one large room, which was pretty much a two-car garage, that they used as the sanctuary. Going up a small set of stairs, you come to a little living room and kitchen area and then up a larger set of stairs is a set of bedrooms. This is where the guys were staying for the week. So they had a keyboard and pulpit and an overhead projector and a bunch of chairs set up for the service. Ron gave introductions and announcements but had a member of the church, Petr, translate. And yes, I spelled that correctly! Petr is Lydia's husband, who hosts the prayer meetings every week. He speaks about five different languages. We began by singing some songs, all in Czech of course. But I recognized the melody and realized they were very familiar songs just in another language. I tried really hard to sing along and pronounce things the best I could and I got fairly good at one song in particular. Of course we sang it several times but I was getting the hang of it. Czech words are so hard to pronounce because of the marks above them, and the lack of vowels. It was really cool though listening to how they worshiped God in their language and to think about how God created so many different languages and dialects and understands them all. Announcements followed and then some more songs and Ron had asked one of the Liberty students to share his testimony. It was very encouraging to listen to and appropriate for the people there. Before turning to God, he had a past filled with drugs, alcohol, and bad influences. After coming to know the Lord, he faithfully gave up all the destructive behavior and ultimately ended up giving up his old friends as well. He soon found himself with no Christian friends, yet stayed true and believed that God would bring them in His time. I believe it was very encouraging to a group of people who face that every single day of their lives. Less than 2% of the population are actually believers and that statistic could even be outdated for today. I can't even imagine living in a country where Christianity is not the norm - it is not even the minority. It is actually unknown to most people, yet this small body of believers continue to stand strong and truly rely on each other.
The rest of the service went great. Ron had asked another Liberty student to preach the message and seeing as how it was a week before Easter, he decided to speak about the story of the palm branch and Jesus riding into town on a donkey and colt. He used this story to explain that we need to be the colt and take Jesus everywhere we go, as in work and school and even our own homes. It was a really neat message and to see what a young college student got out of that story was really encouraging. These kids have really amazed me since they have been here - they are really solid! Then, after every service they have a "coffee time" for the members of the church so that they can fellowship with each other instead of leaving right away. This is a great time for the Czech people to get encouraged and to spend a little more time in a positive atmosphere. This gave me a lot of time to meet the members and try to work on my cesky a little.
After coffee time, we were all going to split up and eat lunch with several different families. Jen and I were eating with our land lords and two of the Liberty girls, the leader of the group, and the Barnes daughter Tori. We were going to make the dessert and a salad and Yada and Olga were making an authentic Czech dinner. We prepared our food and set the table and patiently waited for our guests to arrive.
They came up a little after two and we made all the introductions. They showed us what they had brought and it looked and smelled delicious. This was going to be my first experience with authentic Czech food as well, so I was pretty excited. Yada explained that we were having
dumplings, beef, and a mushroom sauce. Normally, the favorite is pork but today they did beef. Olga also made potato pancakes.

The meal was delicious! We stuffed ourselves with food and good company. It was so neat to talk to Yada and Olga; they know a little English but enough for us to have a good conversation. They actually own a rafting business where people can raft down a river that runs right behind the Barnes house. They also gave us a lot of insight on and history on Czech and the economy and all that stuff that you talk about when you have never been to a country before. It was really neat and Yada agreed that if he would teach me some Czech words, then I would teach him some English. It's interesting to see how badly they want to learn that language. I will actually be working with their daughter while I am here to help with her English. After lunch we wanted to play "Spoons" with them; they know how to play and are actually pretty competitive. It was hilarious watching us all try to pass cards and grab for spoons before anyone else! Luckily, no one lost any fingers considering my nails are pretty long but we did have a great time. We ate so much at lunch that we did not want to move - I was definitely feeling a Sunday afternoon nap coming on. But we had other things to do.
We had to go to Krumlov because we were beginning our English classes tonight at the elementary school. The vans came and picked us up and we drove the 20 minutes to Cesky Krumlov. The school is right next door to the Open Door Club, which is a room that they use for outreach in the community. We were holding classes for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced English students, which is what we had passed out fliers for the previous day. We were unsure of the response that we would get but we were all hopeful that we would have a good turn-out and that the Liberty students would be able to teach the lessons they had prepared. Once we entered the school, we had to take our shoes off. As is the custom in all the homes, you also do not wear your outside shoes in the school buildings. So you bring an extra pair of shoes or slippers, which is what most of us did. Since it was at night though, it was acceptable for some of us to just wear our socks. We opened up the classrooms and Ron gave us a rundown of what to do and expect. I was just going to sit in the Beginner class and observe; the girl that was coming to this class would be the girl that I would work with for the next six weeks. The classes started at six, and at first we didn't think anyone would come. But at about 6:15, Yada (our landlord) and his daughter Lita showed up. Yada takes the Intermediate class, while Lita was in our Beginner classes. There were also a couple of other students in the Intermediate class, including a local partner of Ron's who really wants to learn English. The class was really interesting and the girls did a great job! Lita was so excited to be learning English and even had notes from a previous class she had taken. She is very bright and wants so badly to be able to communicate with the Barnes family. Class goes for 45min, then we have a short "Big Group" time in which Ron shares an encouraging word and we sing some songs. After that, we have another 45min of class. Ron comes up with crazy songs for us to sing like "Whadaleeotcha" and "Hi, My Name is Joe." Of course, he also follows up "Thy don't Word" to encourage the students who are most likely not believers. I have never taught or even sat through an actual English class so it was really interesting. You really can start anywhere in the language because they don't understand any of the concepts; of course, it is also hard to communicate because they don't understand much of what you say. But the class went great and it gave me an idea of where to go with her lessons when they left and gave the girls an idea of how to construct the rest of the classes.
Monday:
Today was one of my favorite days so far here in the Czech. The local elementary school, the one that we are using for English classes, had invited Ron's ministry to come into the school and teach the kids about the real Easter. This was an amazing breakthrough because it would make a great contact for their ministry and the fact that an atheist region would allow a religious group to come in and talk about, well, religion was pretty miraculous. Stephanie, from Liberty, was going to teach two classes this morning and Ron took a few of the other girls with them to help out and observe. Luckily, I was able to go as well and I am so thankful that I did.
The kids' English teacher came in with each class; we had a 7th grade and an 8th grade class. Stephanie did a great job by playing a game with them to teach them some facts about America. They all got involved and actually were pretty up to speed on their American culture. She told them them about Easter and how it differed from the traditions and beliefs here in Czech. There was maybe one kid in the first class who had even heard of Jesus or the concept of going to church on Easter. The best part came after Stephanie finished up with her lesson and we had time left over. Ron split up the kids into groups of two and three and then gave each of the Americans a group of kids to talk with. We asked them questions and they did their best to talk to us in English and even ask us some questions. We did this for both classes and I loved it! My heart is with kids and working with them and communicating with them and even though these kids were older, it was such a blessing to be able to talk with them. They acted like typical middle-schoolers: there was the class clown, the quiet type, the girls who were always the "pretty ones," the eccentrics, the jocks. The only difference was that they spoke another language. They were a tad overwhelming all together but once we sat down one on one with them, it was so amazing. These kids were older than I was used to working with and they barely spoke English, but I got past all that and just talked. The quiet ones spoke up, the ones who knew very little English tried their hardest to speak, and they even helped each other understand us by translating. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. These kids didn't care that we couldn't really understand each other or that they probably knew more about our country than we knew about theirs. They opened up to us and really showed an interest in us. It is so strange to see how, even in a very stable country, the citizens are still fascinated by America and wanted to know more about it. Never in America would we be asked if we wanted to go to Czech and what we wanted to see when we got there. It was just so neat to talk with these kids and to even learn from them.

As if I hadn't already had an incredible day, it was time for us to see the city! About twenty minutes from where I live is a little town called Ceske Krumlov, a beautiful old-style town that has become a tourist spot for everyone from locals to people all over the world. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, shopping and sight seeing. We walked down cobblestone streets no bigger than one lane. Little shops lined each side, each one a different bright color and offering everything from garnet jewelry to little wooden puppets. We saw castles and statues and a beautiful river ran right through it all. It was amazing and can really only be justified in pictures. Enjoy!